Solar Water Heaters

Active solar water heaters are more efficient than passive solar water heaters. But they also require equipment like collectors, sensors, pumps and controllers.

Active systems come in two types: direct and indirect. Direct systems heat water in a collector. Indirect systems heat another fluid such as Freon, distilled water or propylene glycol. After the fluid is heated in the collectors, it travels through a heat exchanger, where the heat from the fluid is transferred to water in a solar water storage tank. Then this water is usually piped to a standard water heater tank were the temperature can be adjusted.